Along with the new meters, most of which were in place by June, the city provides the WaterSmart program, which lets resident track their water use, compare current use with previous periods and compare their use with average users in town.

Earlier this year I made the case that digital water technology adoption would provide real-time water data (quantity and quality) and actionable information to stakeholders. Companies such as WaterSmart are providing utilities and customers with water use data.

The city of Bend is rolling out a new tool to help water customers learn where their water is going and alert you to possible leaks. Check it out at https://bendoregon.watersmart.com/index.php/welcome.

As millennials become the largest living adult generation, utilities must understand how they think and what they expect from customer service, particularly as they face critical infrastructure investments which often necessitate publicly approved rate increases.

Last month, the Oro Valley Water Utility launched the online WaterSmart platform, a user-friendly, self-service web portal that integrates with the Utility’s Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) to provide customers with near real time water consumption data.

Last summer the city launched a customer dashboard (WaterSmart Software) that lets customers track water use online, compare their consumption to typical conserving and wasteful residents, and see where they fit on that spectrum.

Whitehall commissioners on Wednesday authorized spending from the water, sewer and general funds to buy the software from the San Francisco-based company, which will work with a network of 13 WaterSmart collectors throughout the township.

WaterSmart’s software can also alert homeowners if it discovers irregular use from them. Sudden spikes in water use in residential homes can mean anything from a leak to a hose that’s been left on for days.